The Piano Room
by KaleidoscopeKreation
Summary: 'When Zakuro Fujiwara walked in on her first day at Iriomote High School, she didn't just turn heads - she practically broke necks.' High-School AU. Beware fluff.
1. Chapter 1

**The Piano Room**

****~O~****

When Zakuro Fujiwara walked in on her first day at Iriomote High School, she didn't just turn heads.

She practically broke necks.

Envious sighs, covetous glances and full-frontal stares followed her along every corridor; a ripple of whispers spread out from each group of people that she passed. The gossip sparked and flickered to life in the form of texts and snatched conversations in homerooms before the teacher called for silence.

'Is that a new girl?'

'She must have been at least five foot ten!'

'Is she a model?'

'She's gorgeous.'

'Did you _see _her coat? What a colour!'

And then, later, as lessons progressed, the rumours flared up and spread like wildfire.

'Apparently she can speak, like, five languages!'

'She didn't say anything until I called on her, but she when I did, she solved the equation perfectly.'

'She was in my third period gym class, and you should've seen it, everybody just stopped to watch...'

By the beginning of lunch, there wasn't a single person in the school who hadn't heard of Zakuro Fujiwara.

Ichigo Mommomiya and Berry Shirayuki, the two most popular girls in Junior year, latched onto her sides and became her self-appointed posse. Better to join the competition than to be mercilessly beaten.

Zakuro's lab partner, an aloof, rich girl Mint Aizawa, abandoned her airs and graces and joined them, despite having openly snubbed Berry and Ichigo in the past. Her sudden, devoted attachment to the attractive new girl sparked off a whole new set of rumours – Mint practically had hearts in her eyes.

Girls gripped their boyfriends' arms possessively, and single boys allowed themselves to look not-so-covertly over to the table at which Zakuro sat with her small band of hangers-on. Despite their fawning and her polite answers, she somehow gave off the air of being utterly separate, alone and detached from the people around her.

That evening, on Facebook Chat and BBM, all that people could talk about was Zakuro. What she wore, what she did, and – most importantly – who she associated with. And over all the gossip, one question reigned supreme:

_This girl can choose to date whoever she wants. Who is she going to pick?_

**~O~**

Pai Ikisatashi had never really been the socialising type, but when he saw the new girl reading _A Brief History of Time _by Steven Hawking, he had to lean over and ask her how she was finding it. As she looked up at him, she seemed to be rather startled - he assumed that she had been deeply immersed in her reading.

'It's great,' she said abruptly. 'He makes some really interesting points.'

'Don't you think that it's rather autobiographical?' Pai said, frowning. 'It seemed to me that some parts of it weren't about time but about Hawking himself, and his own personal views.'

She seemed to relax slightly, and the side of one of her lips quirked up into the smallest of half-smiles. 'I see what you mean – in places, the tone is pretty Hawking-centric. And to be honest, it's not telling me much that I didn't already know from other books.'

Pai nodded in agreement. 'It was wonderful for its time, but stuff like Singh's _Big Bang _have rendered it rather outdated by today's terms.'

'That's _exactly_ the book that I was thinking of,' Zakuro said, giving a small, animated gesture with one hand. Then she dropped her gaze. 'I'm sorry, but do you mind if I go back to reading? I want to finish this chapter before recess.'

'Of course not,' Pai said politely. But, in his defence, he felt the need to add, 'you're probably the only other person in this school that I've ever seen reading something by Hawking. It's a nice change from _Car and Driver _and the Twilight "saga"_._'

Zakuro looked up again, and Pai noticed that her eyes had very interesting irises. They were a bright, almost jewel-like blue, lighter at the edges than they were close in at the pupil. The reflection of the fluorescent light-strip slid across them as she turned her head and spoke.

'I may be the only person that you've ever _seen _reading Hawking,' she said, and there was a hint of dry amusement in her voice, 'but maybe some of the kids around us have copies under their pillows at home.'

Pai looked slowly around their homeroom, at the guffawing jocks, the art freaks and the solitary emo kid whom everybody had long since given up talking to. None of them really looked like a closet Hawking fan to him.

But then, could he really judge? His charming younger brother Kish had often nagged him that "people think that you're cool until the teacher calls on you in class". Pai had never put any effort whatsoever into his appearance for school and never planned to, but people often seemed to be surprised when they discovered that he was a dyed-in-the-wool, self-proclaimed Geek.

'I suppose you're right,' he agreed vaguely, but Zakuro was already engrossed in her book.

Pai sat back with a sigh only to notice that half the boys in the class were staring at him with undisguised loathing. Feeling rather bewildered, he gave a theatrical shrug, bent down and extricated _The Emperor's New Mind _from his bag.

He didn't notice Zakuro giving him the occasional side-long glance.

**~O~**

'I'll partner with Lettuce-san,' Zakuro said, immediately, as the teacher set them to their gym tasks. Berry and Ichigo nodded, looking somewhat relieved - neither of them would have enjoyed having Zakuro choose between them.

The green-haired, curvy, bespectacled girl who stood next to Zakuro looked up with shock, and red immediately flooded her face. 'I'm t-terribly sorry, Fujiwara-san, but I was actually going to go with P-Pudding...'

'Pudding can go with Mint, right?'

'That's fine by me!' Pudding chirped, oblivious. Mint looked mutinous, but nodded.

'Excellent. Come on, Lettuce,' Zakuro said shortly, all but dragging her away from the rest of the group. For a few minutes, the two of them warmed up in awkward silence, Lettuce stealing covert glances at the famous new girl from behind her fringe. Eventually, Zakuro spoke into the silence.

'You know Pai Ikisatashi, don't you?'

Lettuce stopped for a few seconds in her warm-up, considering. 'Well. Yes. In so far as anyone knows him – he keeps himself to himself. Ryou, Pai and I form a three in our advanced Biology class, and I...'

'Hmm?' Zakuro prompted, standing on one leg to stretch her quads.

'Well, I stop them from tearing one another's throats out as much as I can. None of us are all that talkative, but we get along fairly well. I sit with him at lunch sometimes,' Lettuce tried to stand on one leg and nearly fell over.

Zakuro put out a hand to steady her. 'I want you to tell me everything you know about Pai-san.'

Lettuce looked over at her in bewilderment. 'Wha... Why?'

'I want to date him,' Zakuro said, in the same matter-of-fact tone that she might have used to talk about the condition of the school's vaulting-horses.

Lettuce's cheeks flushed slightly pinker, and she clapped a hand over her mouth to suppress a laugh. 'If you don't mind me saying, Fujiwara-san, that's adorable. But I'm afraid that I can't help you much... Pai hasn't had a girlfriend in the three years I've known him, and I don't think he has any interest in having one. He's very cerebral.'

'Still,' Zakuro said, moving a little closer to Lettuce as she spoke, 'I want you to tell me everything that you know about him... and in return, I'll see what I can do for you.'

Lettuce's blush turned from pink to red. 'What do you mean... me?' she said cautiously.

'Oh, please,' Zakuro rolled her eyes, 'Mint knows that you've had a crush on Ryou Shirogane since the start of Sophomore year. In fact, it seems like pretty much everyone suspects it, except for the guy himself.'

'Fujiwara-san...'

'Call me Zakuro.'

'Zakuro-san... If you really think that I'll do any good, I'll help you.' Lettuce sighed. 'But I don't really know what you can do for me... I don't think that Ryou likes me like that. And you can't force someone to like you.'

Zakuro gave a small smile. 'Sometimes, people overlook what's right in front of them, Lettuce-san,' she said, giving her a pat on the arm. Then her voice became businesslike. 'Your balance is awful. Come on – I'll help you get the hang of these moves, and you can tell me everything that you know while I'm doing it. Now lift your leg up behind you like this, and then put one finger on your ear.'

Lettuce took a deep breath. 'Pai-san was born in Mainz, Germany, but he moved here because of his mother's work he was seven...'

**~O~**

As they came out of Gym, a group of Junior boys walked through the door from the soccer pitch, bringing a fair amount of it in with them on their studded boots. While the majority of the boys ran ahead, laughing rowdily on their way to the showers, a few followed behind at a more sedate pace.

'Lettuce!' Keiichiro Akasaka called out, waving. His long brown hair, pulled behind his head in a ponytail, was dark with rain and sweat. 'How was Gym?'

She laughed. 'Not as bad as usual, actually. Zakuro-san – the new girl, you know – helped me out with some balance issues. How was Soccer?' Her eyes flickered to where Pai and Ryou stood, either side of Keiichiro and studiously ignoring one another. 'Which team won?'

Zakuro came strolling out of the changing rooms behind her at that moment, braiding her long, damp purple hair into an elegant plait. Her blue eyes took in the scene in an instant, and then she turned to Pai.

'Lettuce has been telling me about the long-standing rivalry between you and Ryou when it comes to Soccer matches,' she said, sounding almost bored. 'Apparently, you battle it out over who can sabotage their team to the best effect. Who won today?'

Ryou looked sulky.

'I won,' Pai said matter-of-factly, 'or rather, my team lost to Ryou's five-nil.'

'What charming behaviour,' Zakuro said drily. 'No wonder you two get picked last for everything.' She shouldered her sports bag and set off down the corridor without a backward glance.

Lettuce watched her go, and then turned back to see Pai and Ryou both staring after her with wide eyes. 'That wasn't very nice,' Lettuce muttered under her breath.

'What was that, Lettuce-chan?' Keiichiro said, walking up to stand next to her.

'Nothing,' Lettuce said hastily. The heat of her face and the rain had caused her glasses to steam up, and she absent-mindedly took them off and rubbed them on the hem of her jumper. 'You'd better hurry up and get showered, Akasaka-san, unless you want us to be late for English class.'

Sighing, Keiichiro set off towards the changing rooms, with Pai and Ryou trailing after him. 'I've told you a hundred times,' he said over his shoulder, 'to call me Keiichiro.'

**~O~**

'Lettuce!'

She looked up to see Zakuro walking across the foyer, the crowd parting around her.

'C-can I help you, Zakuro-san?' Lettuce said, turning to face her.

'I'll see you in the canteen, Lettuce-chan, no da!' Pudding called, waving.

'No, Pudding-chan, wai – ' but the girl had disappeared into the thronging lunch queue.

'Let's go to the library,' Zakuro said, taking Lettuce's arm.

'But Pudding...'

'She'll be fine, she has loads of friends. And I have loads more questions for you. If that's alright?' Zakuro added, for the sake of politeness.

Lettuce sighed, giving up the fight. 'Alright, let's go.'

As they climbed the library stairs, people gave them curious glances, and Lettuce dropped her gaze demurely. She might be shy, but she wasn't immune to basking in the reflected glory of being seen with Zakuro Fujiwara.

'Right then,' Zakuro said, sitting down at a small corner table. Lettuce braced herself for another exhaustive bout of questioning. 'What...'

'Do you love him?' Lettuce blurted.

Zakuro looked down at her and raised one eyebrow. 'What?'

'I mean... you just want to know everything about Pai, don't you? Because it's him, and he's all you can think about. I would be exactly the same if I was in love with someone...' Lettuce blushed, 'or rather, I _am_ exactly the same, but I'm not as direct about it as you are.'

Zakuro shrugged. 'I want to know more about him, that's all. He might not be my type, in which case he wouldn't be worth my time or effort at all.'

Lettuce frowned at her for a few moments. 'Nobody is really any 'type'. Everyone is one-of-a-kind, I think.'

Zakuro sighed. 'I would classify Pai into the geek-who-thinks-he's-superior-to-everyone category at the moment.'

'He's actually quite nice once you get to know him!' Lettuce said defensively. 'And is that why you were mean to him earlier, to take him down a peg or two?'

Zakuro folded her arms, staring out of the library window at the grey clouds and dying drizzle. 'I wasn't mean to him. I was merely stating the fact of the matter.'

'Well, you certainly weren't kind, anyway. If he likes you, he'll be feeling crushed.'

Zakuro smiled a little bit. '_If_ he likes me. If he hadn't noticed me at all, which is likely, I'll just have showed up on his radar.'

'He's not autistic, Zakuro. Everyone has noticed you, including him! You know, he said to me yesterday that he thought that you have nice eyes. For no reason at all.'

A flicker of something warm appeared in Zakuro's eyes. 'Really?'

'Yes! And that's why you can't just be mean to him,' Lettuce insisted, 'because playing hard-to-get isn't what healthy, loving relationships are made of. It'll just end in tears, Zakuro-san.'

'Relax, Lettuce – I know what I'm doing,' Zakuro said, easily leaning her chair back on two legs. She seemed to be oblivious to the curious glances that they were receiving from the other students in the library. The gorgeous new girl having a tete-a-tete with Midorikawa the blue-stocking? It was blowing their little minds. 'If I do say so myself, I have plenty of experience with this sort of thing. And, without meaning to cause offence, my sources tell me that you have no romantic experience whatsoever.'

'"Your sources?"' Lettuce echoed, affronted. 'You've only been here for a fortnight!'

'You'd be surprised what you can pick up in that time if you have the know-how,' Zakuro said sagely.

Lettuce scowled. 'I have _some_ romantic experience. I've read lots of novels... and _Romeo and Juliet.'_

Zakuro snorted. 'Please. Real life is completely different, trust me. Lettuce, dear, you may have heard the phrase: "treat 'em mean, keep 'em keen". Let me assure you that it's true. Romance like you read about doesn't exist.'

'Who says?' Lettuce snapped. 'Maybe you've never seen a proper romance because... because you're so cynical and calculating that nobody except for a masochist could stand to be _around_ you!'

Suddenly, the library seemed to be very quiet.

'Don't push it,' Zakuro said, quietly. 'Remember our deal?'

Lettuce got up suddenly, almost knocking over her chair. 'Sod that. Do your own dirty work, and I'll do mine.' She paused for a moment, considering, and then shook her head. 'Good luck, Zakuro-san. You two have a lot in common. I'm sure that you'll make a brilliant couple.'

She flounced out of the library, and immediately muttering broke out across the room. Zakuro sighed, shook her head, and then got up too, pushing her chair neatly under the table. If she noticed the eyes that followed her out of the room, she paid them no heed.

As she went down the stairs that led into the main school, she met Berry and Ichigo coming up them.

'Zakuro-chan, we were looking everywhere for you!' Berry squealed, pressing forward. Zakuro sidestepped her and continued down the stairs.

'I'm sorry if I worried you,' she said, her voice even more expressionless than usual.

Ichigo looked after her with an expression of genuine concern on her face. 'Are you alright, Zakuro-chan? Did something happen?'

Zakuro avoided her eyes. 'I just need some time to think, that's all,' she said, after a few moments. 'I'll see you in homeroom later. Bye for now.'

'Bye,' Berry and Ichigo echoed in unison. They hovered uncertainly, unsure whether to follow directly after Zakuro, but unwilling to linger longer than they had to in the domain of geeks, nerds and loners – the place that they had checked only as a last resort, certain that Zakuro would not be there.

**~O~**

Zakuro knew where Pai would be this lunchtime. Her interrogation of Lettuce, though swift, had been extremely thorough. Lettuce was a gold-mine of information, Zakuro thought, probably due to her quietness. She might not speak much herself, but she listened and watched and stored it all up in that quick mind of hers.

She paused outside the door of the little music room, and took a deep breath, listening for a moment to the faint music she could hear through the thick wood. Then she leant down, turned the handle, and pushed it gently open.

Although the old door creaked slightly, he didn't turn around or pause in his playing at all. As she closed it softly behind her, she wondered whether he was ignoring her, or whether he hadn't heard her come in at all. Perhaps she should have knocked.

When Lettuce had told her that he played the piano – not just well, but brilliantly – she hadn't been surprised. It fitted into the rest of his personality exactly. Challenging, beautiful and independent – the piano needs no other instrument to fill a room with rich sound. The music that was pouring forth from the piano was phenomenal. His fingers seemed to blur over the keys, and the occasional movement of his foot on the pedal blended the notes together like paint on a canvas.

Zakuro played herself, of course, but her mother had insisted that she focus more on her singing and dancing. She would never become a pianist to his standard.

She sighed slightly, and he jumped, lifting his fingers from the keys and turning to face her with a scowl on his face. She took a step backward, keeping her face impassive, but lifting her hands in an appeasing gesture.

As he looked at her, his face seemed to relax ever so slightly. 'Fujiwara-san,' he said coolly. 'Why are you here?'

Wildly, on impulse, Zakuro decided to take a little bit of Lettuce's advice. 'Ikisatashi-san, I'm sorry if I was rude to you earlier. It wasn't my intention to offend you.' She watched carefully for his response.

'Don't worry about it,' he said, looking a little taken aback. He hesitated, and then added, in a more friendly tone, 'anyway. It's good to see you. What are you doing here – did you come here just to apologize to me?' He looked almost hopeful.

'No,' Zakuro said quickly, and then added, 'Someone told me that you played piano, and I wanted to hear you. I was sorry to interrupt you when I came in. That piece sounded beautiful.'

'Thank-you very much,' Pai smiled slightly. 'You're welcome to stay and listen if you'd like.'

Zakuro nodded, limiting herself to giving a small smile in return. She sat down in the hard plastic chair beside the piano and folded her hands in her lap. 'I'd lo –' she checked herself, 'that would be nice.'

Pai didn't seem to notice her slip, and merely turned back to his music, turning a few well-thumbed pages to the start of a new piece. 'This is called _A Campanella, _and it's by Liszt,' he said, for Zakuro's benefit, and then started to play. He leaned forward a little, settled himself into his seat, and by the end of the first page, he seemed to have forgotten that anything existed but the piano in front of him.

As he lost himself in the music, Zakuro lost herself in him. His eyes, indigo grey with dark eyebrows drawn over them; his long, straight nose, and pale skin, remarkably clear when compared to the spotty complexions of most teenagers; his strong forearms, visible now, as his sleeves were rolled messily up to his elbows; the ice-blue veins that she could see like mapped rivers beneath his skin.

She wasn't quite sure how it had happened – how she could have fallen so utterly and completely in love with someone, so fast, and knowing so little about them.

Zakuro had never believed in love at first sight. But here it was, in all its truth and glory, and she couldn't deny it. She knew that she wouldn't be able to hide it from him for much longer, and she didn't want to.

So she sat, watching and listening and waiting, until the last notes of the piece died away.

Before she could say anything, Pai cleared his throat and spoke. 'Fujiwara-san, do you mind if I ask your opinion on a piece of my own composition?'

The request was formal, but Zakuro caught a hint of underlying emotion that set her heart pounding in her chest. 'Of course not.' She leant back in her chair. 'Play.'

The sentimentality of it made her catch her breath. It was wistful and romantic, melancholy, and full of harmonies that pulled at her heartstrings. Beneath the romantic melody, simple chords played, and they seemed to suggest to her a voice of reason, a rationality that remained sustained through the passion of the piece. ..

The inner emotions of a boy in love?

As the last notes died away into silence, Zakuro felt tears welling in her eyes. Pai turned to look at her, saying as he did so, almost tentatively, 'Fujiwara-san, what did you think?'...

Then he saw her expression, and he looked stricken. He quickly leant from his seat at the piano towards her, stretching a hand forward awkwardly to offer comfort.

She lifted her own hand to take his, and pulled him forward gently into a kiss.

If he was surprised, he didn't show it. Instead, he leant forward eagerly, turning in his seat to face her properly. He lifted one hand and ran it through her long hair, silky and sweet-scented, then cupped her cheek and wiped away the tears from her eyes as they fell.

Zakuro closed her eyes and smiled into the kiss. She had known from the moment that she had seen him, that, somehow, they were right for one another. And now, this kiss proved it. It was beautiful, intended; no other kiss that she had ever had could compare. It felt perfect.

**~O~**

Lettuce closed the practice room door as silently as she had opened it.

It didn't surprise her that Zakuro had succeeded. She was womanly, confident, cool and collected... everything that Lettuce wasn't. No wonder that Pai had fallen for her already. Every boy in the school loved her.

But Lettuce wondered... what had brought about that kiss? Had Zakuro goaded him into it, with arch comments and flirting, or feigned indifference? Somehow Lettuce thought not. Even to her inexperienced eye, it had looked simple, somehow, and very sweet. Meant to be.

Lettuce sighed and sat herself down on the grass outside the music building, where her feet had led her without her realising it. She took off her waterproof coat and laid it on the ground as a makeshift blanket. The weather had cleared up – the sun was shining beautifully – but the grass was still damp.

From an open-windowed practice room, she could hear two violinists playing a duet, stopping every now and again to comment on the music or argue some point. They were very good.

A blackbird was hopping about over by the flower-beds. It looked quite happy, and cheerful – probably getting lots of worms after the rain. Around Lettuce, as she sat on the grass, all the world seemed happy and at peace. She felt left out, left behind by it all.

Zakuro was right, she had no experience of romance, outside novels. How silly she had been to try and help Zakuro with Pai! She couldn't offer Zakuro anything, except for information.

Now that Zakuro had everything she wanted, she would surely forget Lettuce, and the promises that she'd made. Ryou Shirogane... for a moment, her melancholy dreams had seemed almost attainable, when Zakuro had made that bargain. Now just smoke in the wind. Of course.

Just then, the blackbird took flight as someone came around the corner, crunching the gravel beneath their feet. Lettuce looked up to see Keiichiro, screwing up his eyes as the sun shone into them, turning them from dark brown to a bright tawny colour.

'Lettuce-chan?' he said, squinting down at her, 'are you alright?'

Lettuce sighed. 'I'm fine. Just enjoying the sunshine.'

Keiichiro paused, and then shrugged off his backpack and jacket, spreading it out on the ground beside hers. 'Really? You look quite glum.'

'Does it show?' Lettuce said, without really thinking.

He nodded. 'Well, to me at least. But I've been your friend for years. Maybe to the untrained eye, you'd look fine.'

'Ugh,' Lettuce said in response.

'Pudding was searching for you earlier, by the way.'

'Oh dear. I hope that I didn't worry her.'

Keiichiro laughed. 'Don't worry about it. Nothing worries Pudding. She's permanently cheerful.'

'Lucky thing.'

Keiichiro turned to look at her, putting his head on one side. 'Are you going to tell me what's wrong?' he asked, shuffling slightly closer.

'Do you mind if I do?'

'Of course not.'

Lettuce looked down at her shoes and absently retied her hair-ribbon, rallying her thoughts. 'Well... Zakuro-san – the new girl, you know – has a crush on Pai-san.'

Keiichiro whistled. 'Really? Wow, Lettuce, where did you come by that piece of gossip?'

'She told me. She enlisted my help to find out more about him during Gym this morning, and the two of us seemed to be getting on quite well... but then we went up to the library and I tried to tell her that she should...' Lettuce ran out of steam. 'I don't know, be nicer to him or something. And we ended up arguing, and then I walked out on her.'

Keiichiro sat listening silently.

'...And now I've just seen her kissing him, and I don't know whether she's mad at me, and whether she took my advice or if she's angry at me and going to make my life hell... and I'm scared that I'm going to die forever alone and stuff!' Lettuce buried her face in her hands. 'I'm such an idiot,' she said, her voice muffled by her fingers.

Keiichiro reached out and patted her gently on the back. 'Lettuce-chan, don't worry so much. What you told Zakuro came from the heart. I'm quite sure that if she wants to have a good relationship with Pai-san, she'll realise that she needs to be kind to him. One of your great strengths is that you listen to what your heart tells you, and that you're not afraid to invest in your hopes and other peoples'.'

One of the violinists made a joke, and their laughter seemed to float over the grass before it dissolved into the sunshine and the cheep of birds.

Lettuce looked up at Keiichiro, smiling a little bit. 'That sounded so cheesy, Akasaka-san.'

'It's true,' he said earnestly, then added, 'and please, Lettuce-chan. Call me Keiichiro.'

Lettuce looked at him as he sat there, next to her, listening to her problems, and something came into her head – something that Zakuro had said to her, during their conversation in the Gym. She smiled.

'_Sometimes, people overlook what's right in front of them.'_

As she looked into Keiichiro's warm brown eyes, the phrase seemed to take on new meaning.

**~O~**

The next morning, Zakuro and Pai walked into school holding hands.

They were locked in an intense discussion about the significance of Greek mathematics in relation to modern music, and they didn't seem to notice the jaws that fell as they walked down the crowded corridors to their lockers.

'It's ridiculous,' Zakuro insisted, 'to assume that just because a piece is mathematically sound, it will automatically be pleasing and interesting to the human ear. There's so many other factors that – '

She tailed off as she noticed Berry, Mint and Ichigo standing by her locker, gazing at her with undisguised shock.

'Good morning,' she said cordially, 'can I help any of you?'

Berry opened her mouth to speak, but then seemed to think better of it. Mint gave Pai a steady, freezing glare. Eventually, Ichigo took a deep breath.

'Lettuce found me after school yesterday,' she said slowly, 'she asked me... to tell you "thank-you", and that she hoped that you weren't angry with her.'

Zakuro smiled. 'Well, can you tell her from me, "you're welcome" and that I'm not mad with her either. And actually, I owe _her _a thank-you too.'

'You can tell her yourself!' Berry burst out. 'We're not your messengers!'

Zakuro looked her up and down with a searchlight stare, and Berry quailed ever-so-slightly. 'You know what, I think I will. Pai-kun, do you know where Lettuce might be this lunch?'

'I think she and Keiichiro go to philosophy club on Wednesdays,' he replied, squeezing her hand.

'Maybe we should go with them, ne?'

Pai grinned. 'Sounds good to me.'

Ichigo sighed, looking slightly put out. 'I guess we'll see you around, then, Zakuro-chan.'

Zakuro turned to her locker and started getting out her books. 'See you.'

Ichigo and Berry set off down the corridor together, but Mint lingered for a moment, looking at a loss as to what to do or say. Then, at the last moment, Ichigo turned around, squealed, 'come on, Minto-chan!' and pulled Mint away by the arm, sweeping her into a nineteen-to-the-dozen conversation about fruit pastries. Zakuro looked after them as they disappeared into the crowd, and shook her head.

'It would never have worked out,' she said matter-of-factly. Then she crammed the last of her books into her bag, and Pai leant over her shoulder to slam her locker shut. As the morning bell rang, his pale-skinned hand clasped hers, and Zakuro turned her head back to laugh and kiss Pai's cheek.

The start of a new day had never looked so hopeful.

* * *

><p><strong><span>NB:<span> the piece that I imagine Pai's piece for Zakuro sounding like is Nocturne for piano in E flat major, Op. 9 No.2, by Chopin. Youtube it, it's **_**gorgeous. **_

**A/N: I know. I know. I know. **

**You're probably all really mad at me right now. And I don't really blame you that much. **

**But I've been thinking about this for a while now – True, you may remember that I've mentioned to you a few times, in passing, that I don't really see Pai x Lettuce happening anymore. They just don't have enough in common. I don't think that Pai could cope, in reality, with Lettuce's sensitivity, and, in turn, Lettuce wouldn't be able to deal with Pai's lack of outward emotion. I can imagine them being friends, and comrades, but not a couple. I just can't picture it anymore. **

**When the quiet realisation of this came over me, I felt quite sad. But soon enough, I realised that people change, and so do their opinions – it's just a part of life. I can't help the fact that I'm changing as a person, and there's no reason to be sorry for it. **

**So then I started thinking about Pai x Zakuro as a couple. I had always abhorred them in the past, but now, in the light of this new revelation, I began to be able to view them with an objectiveness that I had never had before. **_**Why on earth shouldn't they be together? **_**I thought. They have a lot in common. Their good looks and strong personalities would cause some intense chemistry. They could be a really good positive influence on one another. And I can imagine their relationship being, in the right circumstances, one that might last the test of time. **

**I decided to write this one-shot by way of an experiment, to see whether I could, in practice, ship this pairing. (Also, because I wanted an excuse to write the Keiichiro x Lettuce pairing again - although it's crack, I think it's simply adorable. ^_^) I put all the characters in an alternate universe, to see what would happen to them in another place, and another time, when they weren't on opposite sides of a war. **

**Now the story's finished, do you know what? I find that I really can ship Pai x Zakuro! I can hardly believe that it used to disgust me. I'm beginning to think more and more that these two characters were made for one another. They might seem cool on the outside, but inside, I'm sure that both of them have warm hearts that just need the right circumstances to shine through. So I'm going to hang up the shipping flags and say that I will never again judge someone for what pairings they support, because, really, there's strengths and weaknesses in all of them. From now on, I'm going to ship Pai x Zakuro with all my heart, because in them I see something which I can only call strong, lasting, **_**true**_** love. **

**I can't believe that I didn't see it before!**

**Izzyxox**

**PS: Please don't hate me!**

**PPS: Don't forget to review! :) **


	2. Chapter 2

**~O~**

**Today's date is April 1****st****. **

**That is all. **

**~O~**


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